Raft of claims against former sprint coach
The allegations against former cycling head sprint coach Anthony Peden include bullying, drinking and an inappropriate relationship with an athlete, High Performance Sport New Zealand has confirmed.
HPSNZ is investigating complaints from Cycling NZ athletes and HPSNZ staff about Peden, who has resigned.
HPSNZ chief executive Michael Scott yesterday said he had been informed in early May of allegations Peden had been involved with an athlete, as well as complaints about bullying athletes and drinking while overseas with the national team.
‘‘Although our environment is around pressure and intensity there is absolutely no place for bullying,’’ Scott said.
‘‘HPSNZ needs to understand our people, our processes and our actions. That’s what this investigation will do.’’
When Scott was informed by his staff of the complaints he followed up with Cycling NZ CEO Andrew Matheson. CNZ released a statement on Wednesday stating that Peden was stepping down because his approach was not aligned with that of CNZ.
Scott said matters could have been handled better but he did not want to speculate further.
‘‘What I will be looking at here at HPSNZ is what we knew and what action was taken around this allegation.
‘‘We need to learn from any shortcomings so that this does not happen in the future.’’
More than 20 staff have left CNZ since the 2016 Rio Olympics, with some citing the toxic environment within the cycling team as the reason.
Peden could not be reached for comment.
Peden, who had been head sprint coach since 2013, guided the men’s team sprint trio to unparalleled success with three world championship titles, an Olympic silver medal at Rio and 14 Commonwealth Games medals – including back-to-back golds in the team and individual sprint.
Cycling New Zealand said it could not comment due to its contract with Peden.